[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 93 (Wednesday, May 14, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Page 25899]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-11984]



[[Page 25899]]

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

Coast Guard

[USCG 2002-13191]


Review of Great Lakes Pilotage Bridge-Hour Standards for American 
Pilots on the Great Lakes

AGENCY: Coast Guard, DHS.

ACTION: Notice of availability and request for comments.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The Coast Guard announces the availability of, and seeks 
public comments on, the Review of Bridge-Hour Standards for American 
pilots on the Great Lakes dated March 4, 2003. The Review asks, as it 
states, ``how much pilotage work needs to be done, and how many pilots 
we need to do the work.'' In particular, it arrives at establishing the 
number of pilots we need to do that work ``safely, reliably, and 
efficiently (italics in original).''

DATES: Comments and related material must reach the Docket Management 
Facility on or before July 14, 2003.

ADDRESSES: Please identify your comments and related material by the 
docket number of this notice (USCG 2002-13191). Then, to make sure they 
enter the docket just once, submit them by just one of the following 
means:
    (1) By mail to the Docket Management Facility, U.S. Department of 
Transportation, room PL-401, 400 Seventh Street, SW., Washington DC 
20590-0001.
    (2) By delivery to room PL-401 on the Plaza level of the Nassif 
Building, 400 Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC, between 9 a.m. and 5 
p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays. The telephone 
number is 202-366-9329.
    (3) By fax to the Docket Management Facility at 202-493-2251.
    (4) Electronically through the Web site for the Docket Management 
System at http://dms.dot.gov.
    The Facility maintains the public docket for this notice. Comments 
and related material received from the public, as well as documents 
mentioned in this notice, will become part of this docket and will be 
available for inspection or copying at room PL-401 on the Plaza level 
of the Nassif Building, 400 Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC, 
between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, except Federal 
holidays.
    The Review is available on the Internet at http://dms.dot.gov. It 
is also available from Mr. Tom Lawler, Chief Economist, Great Lakes 
Pilotage, Commandant (G-MW-1), U.S. Coast Guard Headquarters, telephone 
202-267-1241.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For questions on this Notice or on the 
Review of Bridge-Hour Standards for American pilots on the Great Lakes, 
write or call Mr. Tom Lawler where indicated under ADDRESSES. For 
questions on viewing or submitting material to the docket, call Ms. 
Dorothy Beard, Chief, Dockets, Department of Transportation, telephone 
202-366-9329.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

What Action Is the Coast Guard Taking?

    The current Bridge-Hour Standards for American pilots on the Great 
Lakes appear at 46 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) part 404, Appendix 
A. These standards help determine the number of pilots necessary to 
guide commercial vessels engaged in foreign trade through the American 
waters of the Great Lakes system in a safe, reliable, and efficient 
manner. Elaborate and rigid though they seem, they only constitute 
``guidance'' to the Director, Great Lakes Pilotage. They are a 
component of the pilotage program's ratemaking process and, as such, 
are part of the equation used in determining the annual rate that 
owners and operators of vessels must pay for pilotage in each area of 
the Great Lakes. They also help determine the number of hours of work a 
pilot must perform to earn target compensation. Under them, a pilot in 
designated waters must work 1000 hours during the season to make target 
compensation while a pilot in undesignated waters must work 1800 hours 
to make target compensation.
    At the requests of Representative James L. Oberstar and the St. 
Lawrence Seaway Pilots' Association, the Coast Guard chartered a study 
to determine whether the Bridge-Hour Standards are reasonable for each 
area of the Great Lakes and, if not, seeking recommendations for 
change. The study in the form of the Review now made available was 
completed on March 4, 2003. The Coast Guard has placed the Review in 
the Public Docket (USCG 2002-13191). It seeks public comments on the 
Review and on its recommendations.

Why Is the Coast Guard Taking This Action?

    The Coast Guard is taking this action to obtain the benefit of 
public comment before determining which, if any, of the recommendations 
of the Review it will approve. It will incorporate any recommendations 
it does approve in a revision to the current rules on ratemaking, at a 
future date.

How May I Participate in This Action?

    You may participate in this action by submitting comments and 
related material on the Review of Bridge-Hour Standards for American 
pilots on the Great Lakes. If you submit written comments please 
include--
    [sbull] Your name and address;
    [sbull] The docket number for this notice (USCG 2002-13191);
    [sbull] The specific section of the Review to which each comment 
applies; and
    [sbull] The reason for each comment.
    You may mail, deliver, fax, or electronically submit your comments 
and related material to the Docket Management Facility, using an 
address or fax number listed in ADDRESSES. Please do not submit the 
same comment material more than once. If you mail or deliver your 
comments and material, they must be on 8\1/2\-by-11-inch paper, and the 
quality of the copy should be clear enough for copying and scanning. If 
you mail your comments and material and would like to know whether the 
Facility received them, please enclose a stamped, self-addressed 
postcard or envelope. The Coast Guard will consider all comments and 
material received during the 60-day comment period.
    Once we have considered all comments and related material, we may 
publish an NPRM amending the standards used to determine the number of 
American pilots needed to guide foreign-flag vessels through the Great 
Lakes system in a safe, reliable, and efficient manner.

    Dated: May 2, 2003.
L.L. Hereth,
Rear Admiral, Coast Guard, Acting Assistant Commandant for Marine 
Safety, Security and Environmental Protection.
[FR Doc. 03-11984 Filed 5-13-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-15-P